Date of Award

12-5-2024

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Keywords

Carbon Footprint; CFRP; Highway Bridge Columns; Life Cycle Thinking; Seismic Retrofits; UHPC

Supervisor

R Ruparathna

Abstract

Highway bridge networks are highly vulnerable to strong ground motions, causing collapse, significant alterations in network characteristics, reduced traffic flow, substantial economic losses and significant disruptions to society. Nevertheless, loosing functionality and collapse of bridges following an earthquake is deemed unacceptable for bridge infrastructure due to their significance. Moreover, the bridges that are structurally deficient and approaching their design lifespan demand to be replaced or retrofitted, which might be highly costly. Hence, this study evaluates two major seismic retrofits for highway bridge columns: Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) jackets and Carbon Fiber Polymer (CFRP) jackets. The assessment emphasizes their post-installation performance, the initial investment required, the expected life cycle costs due to seismic damage throughout their lifetime, and the cost-effectiveness of using those retrofits by analyzing their cost-benefit ratios. Additionally, their environmental impacts in terms of global warming potential since the built environment is acknowledged as the industrial sector that exerts the greatest pressure on the natural environment. To determine the most optimal seismic retrofit strategy, multi-criteria decision-making techniques such as AHP and TOPSIS are employed to analyze the above criteria. The analysis revealed that UHPC jacketed bridge exhibit a lower probability of damage, and a superior cost-benefit ratio compared to CFRP retrofitted bridge. However, UHPC retrofit has a higher global warming potential than CFRP. The findings suggested that the UHPC retrofit strategy outperforms the CFRP retrofit strategy based on the evaluated criteria.

Available for download on Thursday, December 04, 2025

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